Paranoia over a pittance of parcels
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Göksel Bozkurt
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 05, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - Though nationalist parties have long seen property sales to foreign nationals as a serious threat, a report released over the weekend shows that foreign-owned property constitutes just a fraction of Turkey’s total land. Non-natives have mostly taken up residence in Antalya, Aydın, Muğla and Istanbul, altogether avoiding some cities in southeast Turkey.
The debate about property sales to foreigners is a non-issue when the amount of foreigner-owned land is compared to the surface area of the country, according to a recent report that shows that it covers only a minute portion of the country.
Foreign nationals have purchased 51 million square meters of land and property in the country, according to the General Directorate of Land Registry, State Minister Faruk Özak announced over the weekend.
According to a report prepared by the directorate, 85,000 foreign nationals purchased 44 million square meters of land and 7 million square meters of enclosed spaces. The report was prepared in response to far-right Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, Kütahya deputy Alim Işık’s parliamentary question on the issue.
According to the report, foreigners in Turkey have mostly purchased real estate in Antalya, Aydın, MuÄŸla and Istanbul. Â
Fifty-one million square meters, or 51 square kilometers, corresponds roughly to 10 times the size of Büyükada, which as the largest of the Princes Islands near Istanbul and has a surface area of 5.4 square kilometers, or one-third of the Sarıyer Municipality, which covers 162 square kilometers on the European side of the city.
When one considers the fact that Turkey is 783,562 square kilometers, land or property owned by foreigners covers one-15,363rd of the country’s surface area.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture figures published in August 2008, foreigners own or have partial or total interest in 0.94 percent of the land in the United States, which in percentage terms is approximately 15,000 times the proportion of Turkey.
The issue remains controversial in Turkey, with especially nationalist parties adamantly opposing the sale of property to foreigners.
The huge Istanbul market reflects a variety of foreign nationals, who preferred to purchase real estate in Turkey.
Accordingly, foreigners from 67 countries already have real estate in the city.
The report listed some of these countries as the Philippines, New Zealand, El Salvador, Mexico, Kuwait, Peru, Argentina and Singapore. Antalya follows Istanbul on the list. Citizens of Norfork Island, Guatemala, Brazil, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States are living in Antalya on their own property.
Antalya occupies the first rank in the list of the cities since 30,346 foreigners have purchased real estate there. Muğla takes second place with 14,758 foreigners, and is followed by Aydın with 10,216 foreigners. The remaining 9,481 have purchased real estate in Istanbul.
Germans in Antalya
According to the report, Germans have real estate in almost all places of Turkey, particularly in Antalya. In Antalya, 6,645 Germans, 5,153 Britons, 4,466 Danes, 3,423 Dutch, 3,322 Norwegians, 3,087 Irish and 1,048 Belgians have purchased land.
While Germans mostly prefer Antalya, the British prefer Muğla and Aydın districts. Some 11,574 British people have acquired real estate in Muğla, while the number is 6,882 in Aydın. Greek citizens also purchase real estate in Turkey. There are 4,757 properties in Bursa that are registered to Greeks. They have 4,435 properties in İzmir and 1,129 in Istanbul.
In the last year, a total of 10,386 foreigners purchased 12.121 million square meters of immovable property. Between the period of 1995 and 2008, Turkey hit a record number in 2007 in terms of property sales from Turkish owners to foreigners. According to the report, 8,081 Turkish citizens sold their properties to foreigners in 2007 while this number dropped to 6,197 in 2008.
Foreign nationals have purchased 51 million square meters of land and property in the country, according to the General Directorate of Land Registry, State Minister Faruk Özak announced over the weekend.
According to a report prepared by the directorate, 85,000 foreign nationals purchased 44 million square meters of land and 7 million square meters of enclosed spaces. The report was prepared in response to far-right Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, Kütahya deputy Alim Işık’s parliamentary question on the issue.
According to the report, foreigners in Turkey have mostly purchased real estate in Antalya, Aydın, MuÄŸla and Istanbul. Â
Fifty-one million square meters, or 51 square kilometers, corresponds roughly to 10 times the size of Büyükada, which as the largest of the Princes Islands near Istanbul and has a surface area of 5.4 square kilometers, or one-third of the Sarıyer Municipality, which covers 162 square kilometers on the European side of the city.
When one considers the fact that Turkey is 783,562 square kilometers, land or property owned by foreigners covers one-15,363rd of the country’s surface area.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture figures published in August 2008, foreigners own or have partial or total interest in 0.94 percent of the land in the United States, which in percentage terms is approximately 15,000 times the proportion of Turkey.
The issue remains controversial in Turkey, with especially nationalist parties adamantly opposing the sale of property to foreigners.
The huge Istanbul market reflects a variety of foreign nationals, who preferred to purchase real estate in Turkey.
Accordingly, foreigners from 67 countries already have real estate in the city.
The report listed some of these countries as the Philippines, New Zealand, El Salvador, Mexico, Kuwait, Peru, Argentina and Singapore. Antalya follows Istanbul on the list. Citizens of Norfork Island, Guatemala, Brazil, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States are living in Antalya on their own property.
Antalya occupies the first rank in the list of the cities since 30,346 foreigners have purchased real estate there. Muğla takes second place with 14,758 foreigners, and is followed by Aydın with 10,216 foreigners. The remaining 9,481 have purchased real estate in Istanbul.
Germans in Antalya
According to the report, Germans have real estate in almost all places of Turkey, particularly in Antalya. In Antalya, 6,645 Germans, 5,153 Britons, 4,466 Danes, 3,423 Dutch, 3,322 Norwegians, 3,087 Irish and 1,048 Belgians have purchased land.
While Germans mostly prefer Antalya, the British prefer Muğla and Aydın districts. Some 11,574 British people have acquired real estate in Muğla, while the number is 6,882 in Aydın. Greek citizens also purchase real estate in Turkey. There are 4,757 properties in Bursa that are registered to Greeks. They have 4,435 properties in İzmir and 1,129 in Istanbul.
In the last year, a total of 10,386 foreigners purchased 12.121 million square meters of immovable property. Between the period of 1995 and 2008, Turkey hit a record number in 2007 in terms of property sales from Turkish owners to foreigners. According to the report, 8,081 Turkish citizens sold their properties to foreigners in 2007 while this number dropped to 6,197 in 2008.